


The Old Team

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You [24]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Games, Mission Fic, Sports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:55:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28614696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor takes Rose, Jack, and Mickey on a trip, in the hope that it helps ease Mickey back into their universe. They go to an Intergalactic Sports Stadium, and have a problem to solve. But it’s nothing the Old Team can’t handle.“C’mon Jack...I’m a Time Lord. Sports are not something I have time to pay any attention to, or bet on,” he said, and Jack just pressed his back to the console.“Oh, there’s betting?” he asked. “I’m in.”“Me too,” Rose said, winking at Jack. “He owes me at least 35 quid already.”“Double or nothing?” the Doctor asked, and Rose just smiled.“Done.”***Part of the Forever With You Series, recommend reading in order***
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030980
Comments: 8
Kudos: 123





	The Old Team

**Author's Note:**

> This immediately follows the events in “Andromeda”, so if you haven’t read the other stories some things might be kind of confusing. Thank you for reading!

Something made Rose wake up after only a few hours of sleep, despite how utterly exhausted she had found herself the moment she laid her head on her pillow. She fought it, closing her eyes again as the Doctor breathed on her neck, but her mind started to wander, and she found herself growing more and more aware of her surroundings, sleep apparently forgotten about for the night. 

She sighed and snuggled closer to the Doctor, breathing in his Christmas scent in the hopes that could at least relax, if not sleep. It didn’t last long either. He turned in the opposite direction and made some grumbly noise that made her smile, and she decided to go play with the books in the library. 

Shower, first. That would be good. 

She let the warm water spill over her. She kept her eyes closed, the scent of honey shampoo wafting into the entire ensuite, and she just took a deep breath, replaying the day in her mind. 

It had been a behemoth of an adventure, but it had been, if she dared to say it, wonderful. 

They were on the right path. 

She rubbed her body with a loofa, lavender soap wiping away the sweat that had started dripping the moment she saw those zeppelins. She savored the shower, and was a little reluctant to end it, but when the steam got so thick she could barely see the handles she figured it was time. 

He would laugh if he saw her now and probably give her some lecture on water conservation, she thought to herself, wrapping her robe around her and pinning her hair up in a towel. 

She was surprised to see him still sleeping, and she leaned against the doorframe, the steam trickling into their room a little, watching him. He had been through an emotional rollercoaster, she knew, and he needed his rest. She moved to him, lightly kissing his cheek before she quickly threw on some clean pajamas and brushed her damp hair. 

She took her time with that as well, letting the gentle pull of the bristles comfort her. After a few minutes she got up and moved to the library, but she stopped in the hall. 

Mickey was awake. 

“Hey,” she said. He turned to her and smiled. 

“Hey,” he said back, and she walked to him, tracing his face with her eyes, trying to get a sense of how he was feeling. “Did you sleep okay?” 

“Yeah,” she said. “Did you?”  


He shrugged, and she stared at him for a moment. She had known this man for seventeen years, she could tell when he was distraught. So she took his hand and led him to the media room, making him sit down on the sofa. “What are you doing?” he asked. 

“Tom and Jerry,” she said, popping a DVD into the player and moving to the couch next to him. He turned to her, and she noticed, for the first time, how much older he looked. His face had thinned out a little, and the faint etch of crows feet rested in the corners of his eyes. He was, at a glance, older, wiser and tired. She frowned. 

“How long has it been?” she asked. 

“Six years,” he said. “You?” 

“Two,” she said, a little sadly. He nodded, and turned his attention to the screen. She didn’t say anything, hoping this was still his comfort cartoon after all this time, but her fears quickly eased when he started laughing and commenting on the dumb things Tom does, and she smiled. 

They watched a few episodes, and Mickey eventually put his feet up on the coffee table that is sometimes there, sometimes isn’t, it entirely depends on the TARDIS’ mood it seemed, and Rose went to make some tea, bringing them each a cup as the next episode played. 

It was one they had both seen a million times, and they just sipped quietly, until Mickey let out a long breath. “What was that back there, Rose?” 

“What?” she asked, knowing what he meant. He just looked at her. 

“C’mon, don’t do that,” he said. She set her mug on the table and pulled her knees up to her chest, her toes dangling off the edge of the sofa. 

“Bad Wolf,” she said. “It’s...I’ve learned to access it. Like a superpower, I guess you could say.” 

“Are you human?” Mickey asked. She just looked at him. It was a blunt question, and there was no hint of fear in his voice, and she realized that six years with Torchwood had hardened him. She nodded. 

“Yes,” she whispered. “Still very human.” 

“Shame,” he said, turning back to the telly. “You and him deserve more time than a human lifespan’s got.” 

She just continued to stare, and he continued to watch. They didn’t say anything for a moment, and she took his hand, wondering how much to say. 

“I should thank you, you know,” she said with a small smile. “You and Mum. Though I haven’t told her about any of it though, so you know...don’t...But...if you hadn’t driven that stupid yellow truck the way you did none of it would have happened.” 

“Jackie Tyler,” he mused. “I really can’t wait to see her.” 

“She’s gonna freak,” Rose said, smiling. He smiled back. 

“You’re welcome,” he said. “I’m happy for you.” 

“Thank you,” she whispered. He just sat in thought. “Do you regret leaving?” 

“Nah,” he said. “I was getting bored there. Not a lot of friends. No family. It’s just...I’m back to where I was before. No plans.” 

“Do you want to...I dunno, travel with us for a bit?” she asked. 

“Have you talked to him about that?” Mickey asked with a small smirk. She just laughed. 

“One trip, yeah? Just to start?” she asked. He sipped his tea again. 

“Yeah,” he said thoughtfully. “One trip would be nice. Not France.” 

She grinned at him, and started to get up, moving to a stack of board games against the wall. She brought Scrabble out, knowing Mickey loved it even though she always won, but they were both travelers now, and she just raised her eyebrows at him. 

“Loser buys lunch wherever we land next,” she said. He chuckled. 

“Deal.” 

They were still playing an hour later when the Doctor walked in. Rose was laying on her stomach, her concentrated face on her perfect features, and Mickey looked determined, both trying to figure out what the next best word to play could be. 

They had made a rule they could only play words from alien planets. 

Rose had an upper hand, Mickey realized. 

The Doctor smiled at them and moved to sit behind Rose. Mickey just rolled his eyes. 

“Oi, no helping her, that’s cheating! You’re a million years old or whatever,” he protested, and the Doctor just looked at Rose, who started to laugh. 

“I’m not even a thousand!” the Doctor shouted, and that made Rose laugh harder. “I’m just watching.” 

He was amazed at her like usual as he looked at the board and saw some words even he wouldn’t have thought of - the name of a waterfall on a planet he took her to about two weeks after he got her back, and the name of a stew they got on a Space Disk in the 120th century about three months before 2056, just to name a few. He winked at her, and kissed her head as he moved to the library. 

The blueprint was on his mind. 

He wanted to do this with Rose, but he was having a hard time keeping his curiosity at bay, and when he saw her having fun with Mickey he didn’t want to ask. So he was just going to go for it and see what happened. 

The TARDIS had a fire going for him when he walked into the library and he moved straight to his desk. His flannel pajama pants and white shirt were going to be more comfortable for the amount of hunching he was probably about to do as he stared at these pages, he thought, and allowed himself to curl into his leather armchair, his feet on an ottoman as he pulled the piece from the parallel world he grabbed from his suit out of his pocket and unfolded it. He ended up shifting positions and used the ottoman as a table, lining up the pages until the edges of the chamber matched up. 

His brow furrowed, and he placed his elbows on his knees as his hands ran through his hair, then came to rest under his chin, and he stared. 

He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for. He didn’t believe in divine intervention, not with things like this, and he knew the paper wouldn’t magically speak to him and tell him more about who may have made it, or who may be inside… 

One thing he saw immediately, however, was that there was no information on the stone. 

“Of course,” he muttered, and he continued to stare. He scanned the pages just in case, but there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. He used the sonic to merge the two halves together to one full page and flipped it upside down. He deducted from that angle, then moved it to the right, then the left. He flipped the page over. He held it up to the fire.

It was becoming increasingly clear this was just a blueprint. 

He sighed and set it on the small table by his chair, and closed his eyes. He leaned his head back against the leather and focused on the feeling of the heat from the flames as they wrapped around him. 

Rose walked in, and she moved to the floor by the fireplace. The rug, her favorite one on the entire ship, was thick and soft, and she took her socks off so her toes could play in it as she looked at him, unable to take her eyes off his freckles, or the light stubble she had noticed when she kissed his cheek earlier, but she didn’t touch him, too enamored by the glow of the fire on his face. 

“It’s not polite to stare,” he said with his eyes closed, smirking. She rolled her eyes and laid down, the rug brushing against the back of her neck slightly. He opened his eyes after a moment and smiled at her. “How’s dear old Mickey, then?” 

He moved to the rug as well, linking their hands together. She just looked at him, and he felt himself smile wider, realizing she once again was illuminated by gold light. His undoing. 

“He’s okay,” she said. “Adjusting, I think. He’s different.” 

“That’s okay. So are you,” the Doctor said, brushing her hair off her cheek. 

“I s’pose,” she said, smiling. He just chuckled. 

“So am I, at that,” he said. “People change, Rose. It’s not a bad thing.” 

“No,” she said. “Not always.” 

He just looked at her, and squeezed her hand. “He should travel with us for a bit, if he wants, might help him ease back in,” he said, and Rose just smiled widely at him.

“You sure?” she asked, moving so her head was resting in her head as she laid on her side. He nodded. 

“Of course,” he said. “I figured you were going to ask. And well….I missed him. Don’t tell him that.” 

“Pretty sure you already did,” she teased. “And I was. Thank you.” 

He nodded and kissed her, and they both sighed into it. Rose pulled away and rubbed her lips together, savoring him. “Did you find anything?” she asked, gesturing to the table, and he just sighed. Of course she knew what he had been doing. 

“No,” he muttered. “But...I suppose...that would be too easy. Wouldn’t it?” 

“Probably,” she said, smiling, “Nothing like a good chase.” 

“Oh yes, chasing is good. Running is good. Love the running,” he said and she laughed. 

“Yeah,” she said. “I also love you.”

“I love you, too,” he whispered.

They laid there for a while, warm and cozy with the soft rug under their bodies, and Rose felt herself finally drifting off again. And he let her sleep, kissing her hair and staring at the ceiling, when he suddenly found himself crying. It alarmed him, at first, and he kept silent, until he realized it was simple catharsis, a feeling he wasn’t entirely used to. 

She was safe. The parallel world was closed. 

He felt like he could jump off a building and fly. His hearts were soaring, especially as he held her close to his chest, and the memories of the supernova and the way they worked _together_ to shut that world off from their reach penetrated his soul like the fire that danced beside them, and he was just so utterly, inconsequentially relieved. 

He knew there was still a lingering dread in his mind that he will one day lose her, of course, but he was turning it off right now. His hope was stronger than it _ever_ had been. The more they figured out, the more clear it became that they were solving this timeline, and the more hope he felt consumed him. He loved it. He craved it. He would fight like hell for it. 

For her. For them. For the possibility of forever. 

He kissed her forehead and squeezed her just a little, not enough to wake her up but enough for him to feel her breath on his neck, and he was in no hurry to move. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed there, and all his senses were filled with thoughts of Rose, but Jack found them eventually and rocked on his feet. He hadn’t expected to walk in on such a tender embrace, and he dreaded the Doctor’s glare. 

But it had to happen. 

“Doc?” he said, his voice piercing the silence of the room. The Doctor, who had closed his eyes, felt them snap open and he turned his face toward the sound. “We may have a problem.” 

The Doctor, for a moment, felt his stomach flip over, afraid that something went wrong with the rifts. His face must have shown this because Jack immediately shook his head and held up his hands apologetically. “No, no, no. Nothing like that. The walls are closed, all is good. But some sound just came through the monitor, and I can’t read anything on this ship, so…” 

The Doctor sighed and shifted away from Rose, who woke up when he stirred. She was groggy, but when she saw Jack she sat up, rubbing her eyes to help wake herself up. “What is it?” she asked. 

“Dunno, gonna go see,” he whispered. She stood and grabbed his hand as they moved to the console room, heading straight to the screens. He turned them on and observed what he saw, and a wide smile broke out on his face. 

“What is it?” Jack asked. The Doctor just looked at him. 

“Intergalactic Sports. We found the stadium,” he said. Jack just grinned and moved to the screen, peering over Rose’s shoulder. 

“Can we go?” he asked. The Doctor looked at Rose, who just flashed him her tongue in cheek smile and he rolled his eyes, putting on a little show. 

“C’mon Jack...I’m a Time Lord. Sports are not something I have time to pay any attention to, or bet on,” he said, and Jack just pressed his back to the console. 

“Oh, there’s betting?” he asked. “I’m in.” 

“Me too,” Rose said, winking at Jack. “He owes me at least 35 quid already.” 

“Double or nothing?” the Doctor asked, and Rose just smiled. 

“Done.” 

Mickey walked in, brushing his teeth, unaware of the fun that awaited him. “What’s up?” he asked through his toothpaste. They all just smiled. 

Ten minutes later, they were parked on the main level of the stadium and walked out of the TARDIS, where they found themselves in a miraculous world of fandom. 

There were people from all over the universe. Humanoids, women with purple skin, some with heads that looked like horses, some that were short and stodgy, some that slithered instead of walked. They saw some people who towered high above the others, and some with scales. 

It was all incredible. 

Everyone wore jerseys for the many different sports that took place here. Some painted their faces, some had cups with the names of their favorite players on the side of them, some had foam fingers… Rose was amazed how Earth liked a lot of it felt, until she saw the board with the different sports they could watch that day. 

“What are light disk battles?” she asked. The Doctor grinned. 

“Allons-y, Rose Tyler,” he said with a smile, and they all loaded into the stadium, finding some open seats near the top to watch the event. 

It was, essentially, a wild game of frisbee. 

Rose, Mickey, and Jack all stared in utter amazement as four people, two on each team, worked to pass a disk of red light back and forth to each other while also dodging some lasers. The Doctor was trying to tell them how it originated - the result of a long battle between two rival planets, but they weren’t listening, the dazzling display of lights far too captivating. They applauded when it ended, and all were excited to keep exploring and watching. 

They spent the next two hours observing a variety of events, and the betting began. The Doctor was leading, more familiar with the games that were afoot, and as a consolation prize he continued his lectures - earning him a proper eye roll from his wife. 

They ate something that reminded Mickey of popcorn, but more savory, and it was clear this stadium was created as a way to embrace different cultures from around the galaxies. Despite the Doctor’s laborious spiels, which all of them secretly thought were sweet and Mickey truly missed more than he expected, they were all having fun. He was simply so excited to be somewhere new, he didn’t really care what the Doctor said, he found all of it thrilling. 

They watched “sword” fights with space batons, jousting on the back of serpents from the planet Babbatron, something akin to football from a series of asteroid belts, and finally, a team sport in which the stadium was asking for volunteers, holding sign ups for the next round. 

The Doctor signed them up immediately, assuring them they would catch on. 

Before any of them really knew what was happening, they were standing in line with four other volunteers in a small room, and a man with a whistle and slits for nostrils came through a white door, holding a clipboard. 

“Alright!” he said, smiling widely. Mickey noticed his teeth were pointed and he glanced at Jack, who just shrugged. “We’re playing a game we call StopWatch. Does everyone know the rules?” 

“No,” Rose said, raising her hand a little. The man with the teeth stared at her, and suppressed a laugh, clearly thinking she was in for a big surprise. And probably unfit for the task at hand. 

“Where are you from?” he asked. 

“Earth,” she said. Every face in the room who wasn’t part of her party turned to her, and the man with the clipboard stared at her. 

“And your friends?” he asked. 

“Earth,” both Jack and Mickey said, the Doctor just bit his cheek. 

“And you?” the man asked. The Doctor just shook his head. 

“Oh, far away, doesn’t matter,” he said. The man just nodded and looked around the room at all eight players, nodding. 

“Well, since we have so many players from Earth, I suppose you could say it's sort of similar to your custom: ‘Dodgeball.’ You will be given a sphere, and a wristwatch. You can use the energy in the watch to push the sphere toward players on the opposite teams. The sphere is a robot of some sort, so at any moment it may...malfunction. Adds to the fun. Your goal is to tap the other players with the sphere until your team stands. You can dodge, you can roll, you can climb. You may not touch the other players, however, with anything other than the sphere,” he said. 

“Sounds simple,” Rose said. The man just smiled at her. 

“Are we ready?” he asked. Everyone mumbled a sound of agreement, and they walked through the white door into a large pit, where thousands of people were gathered to observe. 

_Is this….hard?_ Rose asked the Doctor. 

_Not for you, I imagine._

She looked at him as he winked at her, and they moved to the opposite end of the pit, standing on four circles. Suddenly, they all found themselves encased in a force field while the wrist watch was put in place, and Rose felt her Instincts wake up, anticipating the fist hit. Mickey looked at her, and she smiled at him. He smiled back, excited for a little bit of adventure. 

Jack was slicking his hair back like a 1950s greaser when he saw how pretty all the people standing across from them were, winking at a man in yellow and a woman in green, which made the Doctor groan. 

The force fields disappeared and they watched a gold sphere appear in the middle of the pit, about two feet in diameter, with shapes Rose recognized, glowing to the pulse of time in their wrist watches. She felt her breath hitch when she suddenly understood where this game came from, and why the Doctor didn’t tell the man where he was from. 

It was Gallifreyan. 

The Doctor winked at her again, genuinely excited to share this with her. He felt a small pang of guilt and nerves, which he expected, but he thought about doing this with her the moment he realized they found the stadium, and he was trying to push it all aside and focus on the fun they were about to have. 

His hope was guiding him today. 

She felt her heart flutter, her smile suddenly wide on her face. It was clearly a fan favorite and everyone was screaming and cheering. The sphere moved to the Doctor first, a fact Rose was not surprised by at all. 

He let out a sound of triumph as he pushed the sphere with his watch’s energy, and it flew across the pit to the opposite team, who were able to dodge. They pushed it back, but Jack jumped up and it went right under his feet. He did the next hit, and the two teams went back and forth like this for a few moments, all beginning to understand the game. 

The sphere was the first bit of actual Gallifreyan technology Rose had been around since the TARDIS and their sonics, though she had been reading about some others over the last couple of months, and the gold ball seemed to sense her connection to the spin of time as well, because it kept coming back to her watch as well as the Doctor’s, as if it finally felt complete. She kept sending it across the pit with a flourish, and everytime she did the Doctor felt his stomach flip. She was smiling, which made him smile, and they were laughing together. They all watched as the other team still dodged out of the way. 

Suddenly, the sphere opened up, and the intricate circles that mirrored the gridwork in their watches appeared. The Doctor knew what to do, and he matched his watch to the time on the sphere. 

_Set yours to 2:22pm_ he said. Rose just looked at him. 

_Already done._ He grinned at her, realizing her Instincts were working. 

She wasn’t Time Lady, but she sure as hell acted like it. 

_What about Mickey and Jack?_

The Doctor just gave her a sheepish smile. They didn’t stand a chance, but it would be oh, so, very fun for him to watch. 

_You’re awful,_ she said, and he just grinned madly at her. 

The sphere then let out a blast of energy, knocking the four people on the other team down to the ground, along with Jack and Mickey.

“OI!” Mickey shouted, glaring at the Doctor, who just laughed. 

Time was on their side. The sphere moved to Rose again, who pushed it toward the other team, knocking one of their players out. 

“Well done!” the Doctor shouted, and the game continued on. It was a lot of running and dodging and rolling, but the other team realized they had a disadvantage, because the sphere opened back up with a new time, and they were once again knocked to the ground. 

Jack and Mickey were too, and both were starting to get a little irritated. 

“Doc, a little help would be nice!” Jack shouted, having quickly deducted that he and Rose knew something he didn’t, but the Doctor just laughed and dodged an attack. 

Rose took pity on them, and she tried to speed the remainder of the game up. It took about five minutes for both her and the Doctor to knock out the rest of the team, and they were the victors. 

The stadium was in shock, before they all started cheering, and the man with the clipboard’s eyes met his colleagues from across the pit, another man with slitted nostrils and sharp teeth, who nodded once. 

He ran out, clapping alongside the stadium, and pulled a microphone out of his pocket. 

“WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!” he shouted. “What are your names?” 

“I’m Mickey.” 

“Captain Jack Harkness.” 

“Rose.”

“I’m the Doctor.” 

The man stared at them for a moment, before resuming his thunderous applause. The game now over, the stadium seats were clearing, as the audience was ready to go watch their next one. The man smiled at them, his sharp teeth shining. “I have to say, that was the fastest game of StopWatch we’ve played in about two hundred years. People tend to get frustrated that they keep getting knocked to the ground. They end up taking it out on each other and violating the ‘no-touch’ rule, and it's...comical, to say the least. You two,” he said, looking at the Doctor and Rose, “are something else. Come, we have something for you.” 

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” the Doctor said. He was feeling a little high on adrenaline. He had missed his homeland’s games more than he realized, and Rose could sense the surge of emotions he was feeling. She squeezed his hand, and kissed his shoulder, and he took a deep breath. “I just wanted to play, that’s all.” 

“I insist,” he said. “Come.” 

The Doctor sighed, and he looked at Mickey and Jack, who were both a little grumpy. “We better get something for all of that,” Mickey said, and Rose smirked. 

“It can’t hurt,” she whispered, and the Doctor just rolled his eyes. 

“Fine,” he said, and his arm slipped around Rose’s waist as they followed the man with the teeth to another room behind the pit. 

There was a small trophy with a watch on it, a replica of the one they played the game with, and he picked it up and handed it to them. 

Rose suddenly felt a panic in her stomach, telling her not to touch it. “Wait!” she shouted, her Instincts firing immediately, but it was too late. Jack and Mickey had already wrapped their hands around it, and the Doctor and Rose watched them teleport out of the room. She stared in shock, and the Doctor’s brow creased. 

“What was that?” he asked, looking at the man. “Where did they go?” 

“We don’t need them,” the man said. “You two, however...come.” 

“No,” Rose said. “We’re not going anywhere until you send them back.” 

“They’re fine,” the man said. “They’re in the lobby.” 

“Prove it,” the Doctor said. He was angry, but not yet worried about two of Torchwood’s finest, especially the immortal one.

It was, however, highly inconvenient. 

The man sighed and nodded to the door, and another man with slitted nostrils brought him a tablet. He turned it on and flipped it over to Rose and the Doctor, showing them two very confused companions turning in circles, trying to figure out what happened. 

“What do you want?” the Doctor asked, but the man just smiled. 

“Follow me,” he said. Rose glanced at the Doctor and slipped her hand into his, and they followed silently through the door, and found themselves on a spaceship. 

It was round, with lots of plush seating and a control panel up against a large window. The Doctor’s face was deducting, and Rose looked around as well, taking in the people who were working the controls and walking across the room, not paying any attention to them at all. 

Rose’s Instincts were telling her this wouldn’t be as friendly of an encounter as the man wanted them to think, and even though they weren’t lined with the Vortex or an innate wolf sense, the Doctor’s were too. Their hands gripped each other tightly as they moved to the window, where they saw a planet with four blue moons. 

“Ah,” the Doctor said. “You’re from Rilum?” 

“And you’re from Gallifrey,” the man said with a small smile. “Both of you.” 

“Oh, no,” Rose said, interrupting him. “I’m actually from Earth, I swear.” 

The man just looked at her with a smirk. “Only Gallifreyans can play StopWatch properly. You know that.” 

Rose just bit her lip, and the Doctor just looked at the man with a raised brow. “What do you want?” he repeated. The man sighed. 

“Help. The only reason we still have that game, Doctor, is because we’ve been waiting for someone from Gallifrey to come back and play so we could finally ask for it. Your planet is tricky to find…” he said. “Rilum is at war.” 

“Ah,” the Doctor said, ignoring the tightening of his stomach when he mentioned how hard Gallifrey was to find. “And you...what? Want us to fight on your side?” 

“Yes,” the man said. “We believe the gift of Time will stop our demise. We’ve been trying to harness it ourselves, but to no avail.” 

“Well,” the Doctor said, tilting his head to the side and he looked back at the planet. “It’s not something you can learn.” 

_Usually,_ he thought. 

She smiled at him, and cleared her throat. 

“What are you fighting about?” Rose asked. The man frowned. 

“Control of our planet. There are two races, Anoits, like myself, and Aleths...” he said. Rose and the Doctor looked at each other. It’s always about power. 

“And why, exactly, would we agree to get involved?” the Doctor asked. The man’s frown deepened. 

“Because it will be fun. I thought you would be pleased. Your planet was involved in many of the universe’s greatest battles,” he said. The Doctor took a sharp inhale of breath and just shook his head. 

“That was a long time ago,” he said. “I’m not interested in any more wars,” he said, his eyes locked with the man’s. He nodded. 

“Are you sure about that?” he said. Rose’s wheels were turning, and suddenly she heard a popping sound behind her and she turned around, just in time to see Mickey and Jack appear onboard, the trophy still in their hand. 

“Where the hell have you been?” Mickey asked, but he stopped talking when he realized he wasn’t on the TARDIS. Rose realized the Anoits, not the trophy, were somehow controlling the teleports. 

Jack stiffened, then broke out in a smile, attempting to charm the Anoits around him. 

“Captain Jack Harkness, it's a pleasure,” he said, and the man with the teeth just snapped his fingers. A guard pulled a gun and fired once, hitting Jack in the stomach. He let out a cry and Rose winced alongside the Doctor. Mickey shouted, unaware of Jack’s ability, and panic began to rise in his voice, screaming at the guard and berating the others. 

“You either help us, Time Lords, or we kill your other friend, too,” the man said. Just before they could act on their threat, Rose stepped in front of the gun, her hands up in surrender. 

“STOP!” she screamed. Her eyes quickly darted to Jack, who winked at her, and she acted a little, trying to buy time. She feigned tears, and shook her head. “Please, please don’t hurt them.” 

The Doctor sensed she was up to something, and he deducted quickly, trying to see how to overthrow the aliens with the weapons. One held their gun up higher at Rose, his finger on the trigger. The Doctor stiffened. 

“Don’t! I’m pregnant!” she blurted out, and the Doctor forgot how to breathe. 

“What?” he said quietly, and the Anoits stopped and stared. Mickey was staring too. 

“I...I was going to tell you,” she whispered. But there was gleam in her eye, and he furrowed his brow at her. 

_I’m not, at least, I’m pretty sure I’m not. I’m so sorry. Instincts. Just...play along, yeah?_

_Pretty sure? Rose, that's not funny. Why -_

_Because, look._

The Anoits immediately lowered their weapons, and the man who brought them there moved to her immediately. “Come.” 

“You’re not taking her anywhere,” the Doctor said warningly, and the man laughed. 

“I’m assuming this is Daddy?” he asked Rose, who just stared at him. “We won’t hurt her. Just getting the lady out of the danger. We value mothers on Rilum. This is between me and you now, Doctor.” 

They grabbed Rose by the arm and Mickey moved to stop them, but a gun was pointed at his head again and he stopped, his eyes locking with Rose’s. The Doctor, however, pulled out his sonic screwdriver and corrupted the control panel, causing the spaceship to tilt and the guards to drop Rose as they fell into the wall. 

Jack woke up then, too, hopping to his feet and running over to Rose, pulling her back as the Anoits were screaming. The Doctor pressed again, and the ship evened out. 

“Move!” Jack shouted, and he, Rose, and Mickey all ran to the Doctor, who began to mess with more controls. The ship was shifting again, moving from side to side. All three of them had a lot of questions. 

“How are you alive?!” Mickey shouted at Jack, who just winked at him. 

“That’s right! You don’t know! I can’t die! Haha!” he yelled. They all looked at Rose now, as their remaining questions were for her, but none of them could ask them at the moment, as the Anoits were moving back to standing positions and charging toward the control panel. Rose pulled out her sonic screwdriver, too, and corrupted feeds alongside the Doctor. The ship started to spin and Jack and Mickey fought them off. 

_When you say ‘pretty sure’…._

_I mean I’m almost positive. Instincts just told me to say that, I knew it would make them rethink._

_Rose…_

Their eyes locked, and Jack was manhandling one of the Anoits, body slamming them to the ground. Mickey was at the main controls. 

“Oi, Doctor!’ he shouted. “We’re heading for that planet!” 

“WHAT?!” he shouted, tearing his eyes away from Rose and running to the window. “Oh, bloody fantastic, just what we need...” 

Rose looked over her shoulder, where the man who first brought them in was moving to her. She grabbed her sonic, shocking him with an electric pulsation, and Mickey suddenly shouted. 

“Doctor, we just lost all power!” he said, his eyes wide. Rose turned to Jack, who was staring out the window, clearly also trying to think of something to do. The Doctor groaned. 

“We’re going to crash,” he said, and Rose’s brow furrowed. 

“No, we can’t, there has to be something you can do,” she said. 

“There’s no power. We…” he began, but he got an idea and he looked at the guards. “You.” 

“Us?” one asked, and the Doctor nodded. 

“There has to be some back up generator or something. You wouldn’t agree to fly on this ship without it. I know Rilum, and you’re stupid but you’re not that stupid -” he began. 

_Doctor, that’s rude._

_I don’t care. They threatened all of you._

She sighed, and let him continue. 

“If you don’t tell me how to turn it on, we’re all going down. You’re going to die. Is that what you want?” the Doctor said. 

“Our Major, he -” the guard began, pointing to the man Rose shocked. The Doctor just groaned again. 

“Oh, come on. Do you think he’d be more mad at you for letting him die or for telling a Time Lord about a generator?” he asked. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m a Time Lord. He’s right. I’m 906 years old, and I’m the man who is going to save your life today but I need your help. So tell me. Now. Where is the generator?”

“Under the seat, there,” the guard said. The other one hit him on the arm, and the Doctor ran, using his anti-gravity pull setting to move the seat and popping the lid off. 

“Doc!” Jack said, and Rose turned to see just how fast they were spinning toward the planet. 

The Doctor’s eyes scanned the generator, and he flipped the switch. 

“IMPACT IN 10 SECONDS,” a voice came over the speakers, and Mickey started to shout at the control panel. The Doctor ran. 

“Mickey, move,” he said. Mickey listened, jumping out of his seat and joining to stand by Rose and Jack, who were watching with wide eyes, along with the guards. 

The Doctor pressed a series of buttons.

“IMPACT IN 5 SECONDS,” the voice said. 

“DOCTOR!” Rose shouted, and he just went for it. 

_I love you, Rose._

He pulled down on a gear shift, and shouted as the ship suddenly tilted up, and suddenly they were moving backwards, turning in full 360 circles back toward the stadium. 

Everyone was bouncing around the room, and Rose let out a blast, locking onto the controls. It steadied the ship just for a moment, and the Doctor managed to gain his balance. He stood and started pressing at random again. They all flipped in another circle, and he accidentally fired some of their artillery on the side of the ship. 

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING?!?” Jack called to him, but he ignored him. 

“I got it!” he said instead, and pressed more buttons, which closed the screen on the window. Rose smirked at him. 

“You don’t know, do you?” she whispered. 

“No idea, but no time like the present to find out!” he said with a wink, and she laughed as he pressed one more button, and the ship, finally, stopped its spinning, back at the stadium.

They were okay, but they had crashed through the side of one of the fields, and they could hear a lot of screaming.

He caught her in a hug immediately, and she gripped him close to her. He pulled away after a moment, smiling at her, before he felt Mickey and Jack hug him too, and then it was all four of them laughing and jumping a little in relief, still hugging. 

The guards were crying, and they just shook their heads. “Go, now. Before he wakes up.” 

“He won’t be happy,” the Doctor said. The guard who told them about the panel just nodded. 

“Time won’t save us. We brought this destruction on ourselves. He just needs to see that. Thank you, for saving us,” he said. The Doctor just stared for a moment. 

“Here’s the signal to my ship,” he said, grabbing a pad from the floor and a pen from his pocket. “If things get worse, _you_ call. I’ll come.” 

The guard just looked at paper, and Rose took it from the Doctor, folding it and placing it in the guard’s hand. “See you later, maybe. Good luck,” she said, and stepped off the ship through the door into the chaos. 

Where they landed, they quickly realized, was nowhere near the seats, but people were still running away, and Rose let out a breath of relief. Crisis averted. The Doctor followed, slipping his hand into hers. Jack and Mickey were there, too, and Jack let out a sound, touching his stomach. 

“Look, I’d love to stand here and stare, but this really hurts, and I just wanna lay down, “ he said, and the Doctor looked over at him, seeing a new pool of blood on his white t-shirt. He looked at Rose, who nodded. 

“Right, course, sorry,” he said. “TARDIS?” 

Jack nodded, and they quickly moved back to the main level. Rose wanted to heal him, but there were so many people around, and she didn’t want to use the energy in the open like this. But she kept looking over at Jack, checking on him, and after a few minutes, they found the TARDIS right where they left her. 

They walked inside, and the Doctor looked at Jack as the door closed. “You wanna wait it out, or…” 

“Um,” Jack said, wincing. “I can, but…” 

“Oh, come here,” Rose said, and Jack grinned at her. She laughed and placed a hand on his stomach, sending her energy into his skin as he suppressed a groan and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to stop. 

Mickey stared at her. 

“You sure about that ‘still human’ thing?” he asked, realizing what she had done. She sighed. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said softly. “How’s that?”

“Better, thanks Rosie,” Jack said and she leaned against the console. A moment passed, and Jack finally said what was on his mind. “So...you’re pregnant?” 

“Oh,” Rose said with a small laugh. Her eyes briefly caught the Doctor’s, whose face was hard to read. “No. I just had a feeling they would stop trying to shoot us if I told them that.” 

“Risky,” Jack said with a smile. 

“Yeah,” Rose said, not talking about the Anoits. Mickey hugged her, sensing she just wanted to change the subject. 

“It was good to save the universe with both of you today,” he whispered. “I missed it.” 

“Me too,” she said with a smile. No one knew quite what to say, and the Doctor cleared his throat. 

“Can I scan you?” he asked Rose, quietly. All eyes turned to him, and Mickey and Jack looked at each other, both raising their brows a little. 

“You wanna -” Jack began. 

“Oh, that thing you were gonna show me, yeah,” Mickey said, and Rose followed them with her eyes as they raced away from the console to their own rooms. She sighed. 

“Doctor, I promise, I’m -” she said, but he just took a step to her. 

“Please,” he said, his eyes dancing with hers. She gulped, and took a breath, and then nodded. He slipped his hand into hers and walked with her to the medbay, watching as she hopped up on the exam table for the millionth time in their travels. “Lay back.” 

She did, and he started with the sonic screwdriver. His blocks were up, and he kept his face neutral as he ran the tests, taking a blood sample next. 

“Not pregnant,” he murmured after a few minutes. She untied the tourniquet and sighed. He wasn’t looking at her. 

“See? I told you,” she said with a smile. 

“Yeah,” he said, still not looking at her. She felt her smile falter, and she shifted so she was sitting on her ankles, her legs crossed. 

“What’s wrong? I thought you would be happy. We agreed we didn't want to talk about it now, we're not ready,” she said. 

“No, yeah. Yeah, it’s good, better, probably,” he said, sniffing. He turned his back to her, and she bit her lip, jumping off the table. 

“Doctor?” she whispered. “Did you...I mean…” He placed his hands on the counter and sighed, his shoulders hunching a little. He still wasn’t facing her, and she ran her tongue along her bottom lip, pressing her back against the edge of the bed. “Do you...wanna talk about it?” 

He stiffened, and finally turned to look at her. “Yeah.” 

She felt her heart beat so fast in her chest it made her a little dizzy, but she just nodded. “Come on, then. I don’t want to talk about it here.” 

He nodded and took her hand, following her to the garden where the projection of the rosebud nebula danced above their heads. The smell of eucalyptus washed over them, and the small trickle of the creek rang in their ears. Rose moved to the bench and sat down, staring up at the sky. He joined her, staring as well. Neither spoke for a moment. 

“You’re gonna have to go first,” she said. He bit his cheek. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he admitted. Their eyes were both still glued to the nebula and Rose took a deep breath. 

“Either we talk about it now or we wait, but we can’t dwell on it, okay?” she said. He didn’t say anything for a moment, and ended up putting his hand on her thigh, squeezing. 

“I want...everything with you, Rose,” he said softly, finally allowing his eyes to look at her. “But I’m scared.” 

“Me too,” she said, looking at him as well. “And I’m not ready. I’ve said that before.” 

“I know,” he said. “It’s just...when I thought you, well...I just…” 

“What, Doctor?” she whispered. He clenched his jaw. Words were failing him again, and he closed his eyes, trying not to get frustrated with himself for once. She sensed it, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, not speaking. 

Neither spoke for quite a few minutes. But they were thinking. 

He wanted to tell her he was still scared of losing her, this time with lifespans more than anything, and that fear was holding him back. But then he remembered how much bloody hope he had that morning, and he was arguing with himself in his mind, debating back and forth, the classic cycle of losing Rose somehow starting up again even though the parallel world was gone and.. well…

Oh, she knows. 

He felt, for a moment, like it was nearly eleven months ago and they were still allowing those unspoken words to follow them around. Back when there were glances neither were sure meant anything, stolen kisses that they never talked about, hugs that lingered longer than they should have…

He didn’t want to go back to that, he never wanted to go back to that, and he sighed. 

Old habits. 

But this was bigger than them, and that thought was keeping him tongue tied. He opened his mouth, but much to his frustration, no words came out. 

“I know you lost them, Doctor...Before…” she whispered, and he snapped out of his bubble. 

“No, Rose, it’s not that, I promise,” he said. He sighed. 

It was also that. 

“C’mon,” she whispered, looking up at him. “I know you better than that.” 

He smirked a little and traced the nebula with his eyes. “Quite right.” 

They sat in silence again, Rose biting the skin off her lips from nerves, and he kissed the top of her head. “I’ll lose you both. Or...you know. If we had more, I’d eventually lose you all.” 

Rose nodded. “I know.” 

“That’s why I...I wanted to wait, until we know what happens. Until….because, I mean...well, if…” he said, but he couldn’t form a single sentence. Rose understood, though, and she just nodded. 

“Can I ask you something?” she whispered. 

“Of course,” he said. 

“If...if we get to the end of this, we solve the timeline or whatever, meet all the projections and if..,if nothing changes, they’ll still be Time Lord, right? So, I just...I mean wouldn’t they regenerate?” she asked. He shook his head, a thick feeling in his throat. 

“We had to earn them,” he whispered. “They would too. All Time Lords with human DNA do. And...the High Council is gone, the ones who give them out, so…” 

Rose nodded, kissing his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” 

He shook his head, his hearts begging him to stop this conversation and run away now. But he tried to ignore them, determined to talk to her. “Me too.” 

They sat in silence for a few moments, and he swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m trying to just believe that it will all work out. That we’ll find the gem, and the chamber, and pass whatever test we’re supposed to go through, and we’ll get forever. I’m trying. This morning I believed it.” 

“You don’t now?” she whispered. He sighed. 

“I...do,” he said carefully. “But I guess I had a bit of a reality check, Rose. When I thought you…” 

“I’m on birth control, Doctor, and we’re careful, and -” she whispered, but he just pulled her close to him. 

“That’s not what I’m saying, Rose,” he whispered. “I’m saying...that...waiting for forever means I miss what’s happening right now.” 

She pulled away, staring at him. “What?” 

“If you _were_ pregnant, Rose, if…” he began, but he found himself tongue tied, tears welling a little in his eyes. He cleared his throat, recentering himself. “I want that with or without this timeline unfolding. The thought of a being in the universe who is hopefully a whole lot of you, and a little bit me...it terrifies me, but it's a good terrified. And I just, I didn’t expect that. I didn't know I would feel that way until I thought it had happened.” 

She didn’t know what to say and she watched him wipe away a tear, which made her stomach flip. “But you’ll lose us, you said, if -” 

“I know,” he said, tracing circles on her hands. “But...well, it’s taken me 906 years to learn this, but...a life led with fear of what will happen isn’t a happy life. And grief isn’t bad. It hurts, it's blinding sometimes, but it’s the cost of love. And love...is everything. What’s the point of any of this if you don’t have love?” 

She had tears on her cheeks now too, staring at him in shock. 

“Falling in love, it never occurred to me before you, Rose. Not like this,” he whispered. “And I just…” 

“Get over here,” she whispered, kissing him. Her hands were in his hair, sending electric shockwaves through his body. He pinned her to him, his hands on her thigh and waist, and they were kissing gently, their lips warm and soft and a little salty from tears, and she pulled away, pressing her forehead to his. “What about traveling? Do we still do that when we’re ready? Or -” 

He just laughed, and wrapped her in a long hug, kissing her head. “One thing at a time.” 

“Okay,” she whispered. He closed his eyes. 

“You just... tell me when you’re ready, and we’ll talk about all of that,” he said tenderly, his breath brushing against her ear. She smiled and buried her face in the crook of his neck. 

“Okay,” she said. “I love you.” 

“I love _you,_ ” he murmured, and kissed her again. 

They pulled away after a few more lingers pecks, and turned their attention back to nebula. Rose smiled. 

“Doctor?” she asked. He looked at her. 

“Hm?” he hummed. 

“What Aphrodite said. The universe finds a way to help true love in the end,” she said. “I still think forever is on the table.” 

He smiled, and looked at her, his eyes tracing every one of her features. “You know what? So do I.” 

They smiled at each other, and held hands, until Rose started to laugh. 

“What?” he asked, smiling at the sound. 

“Mickey’s face…” she said, laughing more. He started to laugh too. 

“What? When?” he asked. She just gasped through her laughter, and he was captivated by her. 

“Oh my God...All of it..When Jack was shot and then jumped back up, when I used the energy, when I healed him, when he thought I was pregnant -” she said, “It was like he -- like he genuinely didn’t recognize us.” 

The Doctor felt his laughter falter and he saw Rose’s turn to tears. She reigned them in, mostly, and just bit her lip, trying to process everything. 

He pulled her to him. “Hey, shhh...” he said, rubbing her back. “He’s adjusting.” 

She nodded, and let out a shaky breath. “I know. And I know he also had fun today, I just...I never thought I’d see him again,” she said. “He’s my oldest friend, and he said it’s been six years for him. Six years, and I...I don’t want him to have come here expecting it to be like it was and then hate me for changing, and then regret all of it.” 

“No one could ever hate you, Rose,” he said. She sniffed, and he smiled at her. “We’ll go see your mum. She’ll remind him some things never change. She’s as irritating as ever.” 

“Shut up,” she said, leaning her body into his. “Thank you.” 

“Of course,” he said. “You tired?” 

“A little,” she said. “You know what I really want?” 

“Chips?” he asked with a knowing smile. 

“Ooh, those too,” she said with a grin. “I wanna read more about your games on Gallifrey.” 

His impossible human. 

“We can make that happen,” he said with a small smile, kissing her. “Come on.” 

She smiled and grabbed his hand, walking to the library and letting the thoughts of babies go once again, for now, ready for whatever was coming next.

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to say thank you to everyone who is bearing with me and reading all of these adventures. There is an end in sight, I promise! I have a plan and a draft of what's to come, but I'm writing this as if its a series with episodes, so not every adventure is going to tell them more about their forever timeline. It keeps me on my toes as a writer and hopefully its fun for you as a reader. Its definitely longer than I expected but more ideas just keep coming to me before we get to the end, and to all of you who have written me or left kudos - thank you thank you!!! I am a new fanfic writer and I love you all so much! <3 
> 
> This week has been hard too for me, so if its that way for you as well - sending love and hugs xo


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